


Electric Love

by becky69lu



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crystal Gems, Depends, F/F, Gem Peridot, Human AU, Human Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kinda?, Rating might go up, lapis hides peridot, only lapis is human so far, plot picks up after jailbreak, takes place before the return
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-12-27 04:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12073518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becky69lu/pseuds/becky69lu
Summary: "You cannot give me away to the Steven!"  Peridot shouted in her face.Lapis frowned, crossing her arms. "Why not? You are dangerous right? You want to hurt my home right?"In which Lapis Lazuli hides a Homeworld gem in her house.





	1. Chapter 1

Lapis sighed, walking into the salty water she'd grown familiar with. The wind threaded through her short blue dyed hair, reminding her of why she loved growing up in this town in the first place.

Beach City was pretty secluded. 

There were barely enough residents to even call it a town but Lapis liked it that way. She liked having neighbors that she could call friends. 

She liked how the whole town knew each other, even the weird alien ladies that lived on the outskirts of town.

In fact, Lapis found herself in the water near the fence that separated them from the aliens who plopped themselves there. 

She wasn't nervous in the slightest, being familiar with the gems. When she was sixteen she used to babysit Steven Universe, the half human half gem hybrid who now lives with the weird alien ladies.

She even met them on a few occasions. The only one though that she feels fully comfortable around is Amethyst. During the summer they liked sharing shenanigans together like dumping water balloons from the roofs onto unsuspecting residents.

They usually had a blast together. 

Lapis waved her tan arms in the air, letting the wind take her. She loved the summer and she loved water.

She was once deathly traumatized by water. She still remembered the way it felt so heavy surrounding her, like she would never escape. How a single drop felt like years of torture. Now though, she was recovering step by step. The horrible memories of a sixteen year old Lapis were buried deep in her mind.

A year back she reclaimed her love for the sea with the help of an encouraging Steven.

Steven Universe was her best friend. He helped her move on from so many past experiences and taught her to love life. He taught her not to fear water. She knew it was weird for an adult to be friends with a preteen, but everyone knew of their pasts together. How she used to babysit him.

Lapis remembered how much she needed a job and how kind Greg Universe had been to give one to her. Although he could only pay her so much due to having a low income job himself, she still appreciated each dollar. It was rewarding in itself to give herself a distraction from her terrible life.

The little boy though was another reward. He was practically the sun itself and he helped create light in her dark world. She still doesn't know how life would've turned out if she didn't meet Steven.

The water licked her thighs as she went in deeper. The day seemed to be winding down, a beautiful golden sunset in the sky. This was the best time to go swimming in Lapis' opinion. The air was slightly warm, nothing like the scorching humidity earlier in the day. The water was warm from the hot day making Lapis sigh with content. 

She was getting ready to dive into the water when she finally noticed it.

A green hand in the sky. 

Her mouth opened in shock. It couldn't possibly be an airplane. It couldn't be a government vessel either.

Thats when she thought. What if it were more aliens? She knew they were real, proven by the fence in front of her. She just thought they were safe from any type of alien attack.  
She let out a deep breath. Steven will take care of this. His weird alien moms will take care of it. Lapis didn't need to worry at all...right? 

Suddenly the sky turned green as the hand started to approach slowly. Now it was time to worry.

She rushed out of the water, grabbing her towel and effectively wrapping it around her torso. She quickly slipped on her foot flops and ran to the metallic fence as water dripped down her body. Just as she was ready to start banging on it she saw her friend rounding the corner. 

Steven looked very distressed which only made Lapis panic further. Steven was usually optimistic and it took a lot to make the boy upset.  
"Steven! Whats going on? Whats that green thing in the sky?" 

He ran through the installed gate, pulling Lapis' arm away from the fence.  
"Hey! Steven!" 

He kept pulling her away, and as much as Lapis tried to resist the boy was admittedly strong.

He turned to look at her with panicked brown eyes. "Lapis! You've got to go. The entire town has to go."  
Lapis' blue eyes widened. "What? Why?" 

Her towel started to fall from her form and her free arm quickly tried to keep it up especially at the pace Steven was dragging her at.  
"Listen Lapis! There's not a lot of time to explain. You all just have to go in case the gems have to fight."

She stopped putting up a fight and followed Steven at his serious tone.

Although she sometimes complained that Steven smiled too much, she'd give anything to see him smile right now.

 

It was hard watching Steven try to get the town together. 

The people who were much like him, full of optimism and hope all had distraught looks on their faces. Many were panicking, while others hurried to leave. Lapis' neighbors and friends were all scared and it was hard herself to not get frightened.

Steven being Steven, was able to calm everyone down eventually with one of his speeches. Although Lapis could see that Steven was trying hard not to show his own fear, it worked and most of the town began to leave. 

The curly haired boy turned to Lapis, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You need to go now too." 

Lapis nodded, taking off into the direction of her home.  
Lapis quickly ran into her house, grabbing her phone charger and some clothes. She didn't know how long Steven would need them gone, but she hoped it wouldn't require the spare clothes.

She ran into her car with the armful of things she brought, pulling her keys out quickly.

As she drove off she sighed deeply. She was far from religious but around this time she'd thought it'd be a good idea to pray for her friend. Lord knows he'd need it.

 

Lapis was at the next town over, wearing a blue crop top she slipped over her head while in traffic.  
She originally put a sweatshirt on over it but she couldn't keep one on from how much she was worrying. She knew Steven could control things just fine but she wanted to know for sure that he was okay.

In the middle of her thoughts on an empty country side road, she didn't see the round green object flying down to Earth.

Only when she heard the crash did she jolt and slam the brakes. 

She tilted her head to the right, her mouth hanging open at the green glow cast over the corn field.

She stopped her car, putting the keys in the cup holder. Lapis reached over to grab her matching skirt to put on over her bikini bottoms. She stepped out of her car, slipping them on over the bottoms.

No other human was around. If something were to pop out she'd have zero chance of someone protecting her. 

These thoughts rushed through her head as her feet continued moving toward the glow. She slipped through the corn, stopping at the huge empty field.  
In the middle was a huge indent with a green sphere stuck inside.

She stopped at the top of the grass, looking down at the hole the thing created.

Everything slowed down for a few moments as she stared down. 

Then the sphere opened. She heard loud coughing before a figure fell out. Lapis put her hand over her mouth to prevent any noise from escaping. 

The creature down from her had green skin. She was lanky and tall with a sharp face. She looked confused, her eyes covered in a visor. 

Probably most strange of all were limbs. They were large and metallic and she had no hands. Instead she had floating fingers without a palm. 

Without Lapis saying a word the creature seemed to notice another presence. 

She turned to face Lapis and both creatures, human and non-human did the only thing they could at this moment. 

They both screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Peridot gets a ride and Lapis starts to loose her mind

Lapis' feet moved fast against the dirt, her hands desperately pushing aside corn stalks. 

"Wait!" The alien called behind her, but Lapis refused to stop even at the sound of loud wind, like a helicopter coming from behind. 

She thought of gym class at school and how she used to laugh at the ridiculous mile runs they'd have.  
She wished she took it seriously because from what Steven told her, the aliens that want Earth are ruthless and she cursed at her feet for moving so slowly.

Just as she reached the clearing, relief in sight, she saw a figure standing in front of her car. Her blue eyes widened. The green alien was already there. How did she get there so quickly? 

The aliens eyes widened too and she took a defensive stance, reaching out her hands in a calming manner. "Stop! Just stop running for a moment!" The aliens nasally voice shouted out. 

Lapis wanted to keep running and never stop, but that option quickly died down when the aliens hand formed into a weapon. 

The blue haired girl felt tears gather in her eyes as she fell to the ground. She was going to die. She would never fall in love, get married, or have children.  
She would never see her friends or family again. 

Just as tears leaked out of her eyes, the aliens face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why are your eye holes leaking? Nyah! You humans are so difficult!" She shouted out. She put her weapon away, forming back into a hand. 

Lapis shook with relief. The alien put her hands on her hips, her mouth forming into a tight 'm' shape. 

"Listen. I need transportation by human standards somewhere. Preferably shelter while I gather my bearings. I see you have a vessel here to do that so you must take me to shelter. Those crystal clods would never think to look in a human dwelling for me." The alien walked towards Lapis holding out a hand. Lapis hesitantly took it, the alien bringing her to her feet with surprising strength.

"Lets go now." The alien walked over to the passenger side, eyeing the machine for the first time. Lapis shakily walked to her side, opening the door and slipping inside. This was really happening.

This alien wanted to go home with her after aiming a death machine at her face.

Not to mention this could be the creature that was threatening her home town mere hours ago.

At any rate, it would be a wise decision to bring this thing to Steven. He'd know what to do.

The alien opened the door, jolting Lapis from her thoughts. She quickly moved the clothes from the seat, throwing them in the back. The alien sat down, shutting the door afterwards. 

"S-so.. Whats your name?" Lapis asked as she started up the car. 

"Peridot." She looked disinterested in Lapis, instead starting up a screen out of her fingers. 

Lapis tried not to be transfixed by the device, instead pulling out of the side of the road and starting her journey back home. 

She didn't know if it was safe yet, but this thing needed to be out of her life as soon as possible.

It stayed pretty quiet for awhile, Lapis driving while Peridot kept herself occupied by her screen. 

That was up until Peridot started talking to herself. "Log date 6512, this is Peridot updating status." 

She glanced over at the creature, talking about getting stuck on Earth and Homeworld.  
Lapis recalls hearing a bit about those things, making her theory correct. She must've been inside the green ship that she saw earlier that day.

That fact only made her drive a bit faster home. 

After another long period of silence Lapis got curious. "So um.. what exactly are you?"

The creature turned to Lapis with a stone cold expression on her face. "I'm a gem from another planet. You humans are such simple creatures I'd doubt you'd understand that though." 

Lapis saw the sign for Beach City approaching, making her sigh in relief. 

"So your gem is that thing on your forehead right?" She asked, glancing up at it. 

The creature huffed. "Correct assumpation." 

Lapis' phone started to ring, making both in the car jump. "Its just my phone." She said.

Lapis reached down and picked it up. On the caller ID was Steven. She quickly answered, putting the device up to her ear.

"Lapis!"  
"Steven!" She said in relief.

She swore she saw the gem from the corner of her eye stiffen, but ignored it.

"Listen! You can come back home now, the city is safe but I need to tell you something important. There's a gem out somewhere named Peridot. Shes very dangerous and we have no idea where she went. Shes tall and green, have you seen her?" 

Lapis knew a few things now. She knew that Peridot was in fact a she, but most importantly of all is that shes dangerous. 

Lapis glanced to her right at the gem.

She was staring at Lapis with wide eyes, her posture stiff as a board.  
"Actually as a matter of fact-" Her phone was ripped from her hand and thrown out the window.

Her mouth opened wide in shock. 

"Hey! What gives?!" Lapis stopped the car suddenly, about to leave to go retrieve her phone when Peridot's metallic fingers grabbed a hold of her shoulders. 

She pushed her back into her seat, turning Lapis to face her. 

"You cannot give me away to the Steven!" She shouted in her face. 

Lapis frowned, crossing her arms. "Why not? You are dangerous right? You want to hurt my home right?" 

The gem moved in closer to Lapis, her touch more urgent. 

"Yes I get it! But you have to understand that I'm only doing my job! If I were to not do it than I'd simply be killed. My job as a matter of fact was just to check on something on your planet! I wasn't doing anything but a progress report before I got stuck here! Please do not turn me into the Crystal Gems. They will kill me on the spot. You're my only hope, human." 

Peridot's eyes were searching Lapis' desperately, looking for a bit of mercy or understanding. 

Lapis couldn't handle the intense gaze, only seeing the truth in her words.

"Alright! Fine! You can come home with me." Lapis sighed out.

Peridot chuckled with delight, loosing her grip on Lapis. "Thank you human." 

Lapis looked up at her. "That's not my name. If you're going to be living at my house you need to get my name straight. Its Lapis." 

The gem looked oddly confused. "It cant be Lapis. You're a human, not a gem."

Lapis giggled. "I know, but that's what my parents named me." 

She still looked lost but Lapis ignored it.

Peridot was a gem with no idea how humans worked or their society. It was going to be a long night, that Lapis was certain of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah, another chapter so soon?  
> Like I said before, I don't know how often updates will be but since I had another chapter in my folder all done I just decided to post it today.  
> Have a great Wednesday guys! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lapis and Peridot adapt to domestic life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters mainly a filler, but I thought it would be cool to see them interact for a bit before the plot picks up.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lapis pulled up into her driveway, the street being semi-empty from that days earlier evacuation. 'That's good for me at least.' Lapis thought. 

It would be difficult trying to explain to the neighbors why there was a tall green lady going into her house.

It was late, being around 10:30. The clock on her car read 11:00 but she knew it was 30 minutes late.

As she collected her items from the back of the car that were thrown there earlier, she noticed Peridot taking in the place.

Shes probably never seen a structure like it before.

Lapis owned a one story home, painted blue on the outside.

It wasn't huge, only bearing 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room.

After successfully bundling up her belongings, she left the car with keys in hand. Peridot followed, quickly exiting the vehicle. 

The air carried a light breeze to it that blew Lapis' short hair around. As they walked up the porch steps, Lapis' motion-sensor light came on. She felt Peridot jump slightly beside her but she luckily stayed quiet.

Lapis opened the front door with her keys, and walked in after Peridot.

"So this is a human dwelling?" She asked, voice as nasally as ever. 

It was kind of irritating to be honest, how her voice always edged on annoyance but Lapis just figured it was something she'd have to get used to. 

"Yep. But its just known as a house. Or to me its my home." Peridot nodded to the information, quickly taking notes down in her... fingers? 

She'd have to ask what it was. For now though Lapis just wanted to put her things away and fall asleep.

She entered her bedroom, putting the ball of clothes on her dresser to put away tomorrow. 

She returned her phone charger and keys to the right spots. 

She grimaced, plugging the charger back into its spot. She was now absent the actual phone part. She'd have to go to the store tomorrow.

Lapis started to think about her situation thoroughly as she changed into a nightgown.

She was doing something wrong.   
She knew she was.   
Steven emphasized how dangerous Peridot was.   
She invaded the Earth mere hours ago!

Here she was though, glancing out the doorway to see Peridot standing in the middle of the hallway documenting everything she saw.

What would the gems do if they found out?   
Would they hate Lapis and ban her from seeing Steven?   
Or would she be resigned to a fate just as bad as Peridot would be if she got caught?

Smuggling her here was a bad idea. 

Smuggling her to Beach City, capital to the Crystal Gems was a TERRIBLE idea.

Peridot still hadn't seen Lapis looking at her, too absorbed in a snow globe she found on the end table. 

She picked it up curiously and shook it, surprised at the explosion of white specks. 

Practical stars were in her eyes, her mouth making an 'o' shape. 

Lapis smiled faintly.   
On the other hand, maybe she did something good.   
After all, she did save her life.  
Maybe she could even get her to like Earth.

Lapis chuckled a bit to herself.

Now that would be a chore.

\------

Large hands wrapped around her tiny wrists, pulling and yanking her. 

The figure was blurry, but she could hear it yelling at her. 

Lapis felt hot tears trickle down her eyes as she lost feeling in her hands. 

The brute suddenly shoved her down onto a hard floor. 

She looked up, seeing a dark ceiling pattern before the figure was right in her face.

A large fist was raised in the air, before it came crashing down to her face.

Lapis bolted up from her bed, panting hard. She suddenly noticed the pain she felt on her forehead.

Lapis opened her eyes as she held her forehead, looking up to come face to face with Peridot who was on the bed, practically in her lap holding her forehead as well.

Both of them yelped, Peridot being shoved onto the floor. 

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Lapis grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

She noticed it was daylight out now, her clock reading 8:23. 

The gem cursed under her breath. 

"Why'd you have to bolt up so fast?" She whined, dusting herself off as she stood.

"The real question is, why were you in my bed?"

The gem rolled her eyes, pulling up her screen. "I was surveying your 'home' when I heard you yelling. All I did was check your pulse and monitor your heart rate. You humans have such interesting anatomy. You kept ignoring my questions though." Peridot pointed out.

Lapis let out a sigh. She was going to have to explain everything to her, wasn't she?

"I was sleeping. Humans sleep everyday to regain energy." 

Her eyes widened in surprise, before noting it on her hand. "Fascinating."

"What even is that thing?" Lapis asked, pointing at her now tablet like hand.

"Its my communication pad. This how I log things for work, but I also like logging interesting things too. I got a lot of information out of your dwelling."

As Peridot explained, Lapis got up for the day. 

She put away the clothes from last night and picked out a new outfit for the day when Peridot finished her explanation. 

"So its like a technological limb?"

"I suppose."

"Hm."  
Lapis went to the bathroom to change, shutting the door behind her.

She heard Peridots loud footsteps retract from her bedroom, moving on to some other part of the house.

Lapis' opinion on Peridot was slowly changing. 

Last night she was so sure she made a mistake hiding her but this morning shes not so sure.

Peridot wasn't being hostile just now and in fact was engaging her in conversation. 

She wasn't expecting that out of a gem. The stories the Crystal Gems have told made her believe they were all monsters.

That they all would kill a human on the spot.

Not Peridot though. Lapis still hadn't forgot about the death ray aimed at her face, but she could've shot it if she wanted to.

She didn't though. 

If Peridot couldn't hurt Lapis then that had to count for something, right? 

Lapis felt an ache begin to form in her head from all the thinking she was doing. 

She sighed and put her dirty clothes in the hamper, deciding on not thinking at all.

She entered the kitchen, retrieving eggs from the fridge for breakfast. 

The kitchen was connected to the living room where Peridot was standing. 

She was taking notes with a focused expression on her face. Her eyes were scrunched up, her lips in a stuck 'm' shape that made Lapis smile.  
'Cute'

\--------

"So you humans have to eat nutritional substances to stay alive?" 

Lapis nodded as they entered the dining room. "Whats the purpose of this room?"

Lapis grinned, picking up her paint brush. Originally a dining room, Lapis turned it into an art studio. 

She lived alone so what was the point in keeping a dining set meant for a big family? 

Canvas' hung the walls filled with different finished pieces. The walls were covered with paint splatters and doodles. The floor was hard wood, covered with a big white sheet to prevent staining the floor. 

She got out some paints from the cabinet in the corner of the room, smiling at the way Peridots eyes took everything in.

"It was originally a dining room. Its meant for people to eat in at a table."

"But theres no table." Peridot pointed out.

Lapis giggled. "Yeah I know. It used to be a dining room. I turned into a studio."

Peridot hummed in thought. Lapis continued to work on her current piece while Peridot observed. 

"Ah I've seen these peculiar sketches before. Its meep morp, correct?"

Lapis stopped the line she was drawing, opting to face the green gem. "Excuse me? What'd you call it?"

Peridot looked disinterested in Lapis' question. "Meep morp. Do you not know your own Earth culture?"

Lapis felt a laugh bubble up inside her. "Peridot that's not meep morp. Its called art." 

Peridot looked so surprised that Lapis started laughing out loud this time. 

"Art? But that Aquamarine said it was the correct term- Oh I'm going to shatter her." Peridot grumbled, embarrassment covering her cheeks.

Lapis stopped her laughter reluctantly. "Hey its okay. I kinda like it. Meep morp." She smiled brightly at Peridot to make up for laughing.

Peridot frowned, walking around the room as she typed new info on her communication pad. "No. The correct term is art so that's what it shall be."

Lapis stopped her pacing, placing a small hand on her shoulder gently.

Peridot ceased moving, looking at Lapis with wide eyes. "Art is such a bland term anyways. Lets just call it meep morp okay?

Peridot nodded stiffly in response, trying to hold back a smile.

A sharp knock on the front door shocked them out of their trance. 

"Hey Lapis! Its Steven!" 

Lapis and Peridot looked at each other with wide eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Lapis!" Steven grabbed onto her hand like usual as he exited him and his fathers van.

"Hey Steven." Lapis said. She tried giving him the biggest smile she could, but even he couldn't believe it today.

When he pulled her to start walking she visibly flinched.

"Whats wrong?" His big eyes trailed down to the hand he was holding. 

Her usually tan and smooth skin was covered with nasty purple and black bruises captured around her whole wrist. "Whys your wrist funny today?"  
Lapis frowned. "Did your daddy do that?"

Lapis felt her stomach sink.  
Her eyes widened, trailing down to the little boy. 

"Of course not Steven! How could you think that?" She leaned down to his level, worry evident. 

"Its just that I've seen how your daddy grabs you when you get picked up. My daddy just says hes really strong and its on accident, but hes strong too and he never grabs me like that." 

His face fell, tears gathering in his eyes.

"No no Steven! Its okay, really! Lets just have a fun day today okay?" She hugged him tight just like he does for her. 

Lapis was never one to believe in the saying that children are more perceptive than adults but now she does. Her eyes went down to her wrist with a frown. 

She should buy some concealer.

 

-

 

"You gave me away? I thought we'd come to an agreement! How could you betray me like that?!" Peridot rambled away as Lapis was pulling her to the hallway.

She wouldn't shut her mouth, continuing to spew ignorant comments.

This was probably not the best time to finally notice Peridot had little white fangs.

"I didn't okay?! Steven just showed up! You destroyed my way of communicating remember?!" Lapis whispered.

"You expect me to believe that? I should've just let you run away, I could've done fine on my own!" The gem grumbled to herself not bothering to stay quiet at all, even though her life was at risk. 

Lapis opened the door to the storage closet in the hallway.

"Just stay here alright? You have to trust me if you don't want to be found out. Don't move, just stay here until I get you." Lapis practically shoved the gem into the little space.

They could both hear Steven banging on the front door shouting for Lapis.

Peridot sighed but nodded. "Good." Lapis shut the door, walking fast to the front door.

"Hey Steven!" Lapis answered the door as casually as she could. Steven jumped onto her, hugging her tightly. 

"Lapis!" He said from her shirt. Lapis wrapped her own arms around him. 

When she looked up she noticed the Crystal Gems behind him, standing their awkwardly while he hugged Lapis.

Lapis felt her stomach sink.

"Whats the matter Steve-man?" She asked as he let go. 

"Its just that last night after you didn't reply to me. And you didn't answer my calls! We found your phone just on the side of the road, we thought for sure Peridot got you!" Steven held out the phone with the screen shattered to bits. 

"Sorry Steven! I hit a bump in the road and my phone fell out of my hands." Lapis frowned, looking up at the gems. 

They looked uncertain but Steven looked relieved. "Why would Peridot get me?" Lapis asked with a little laugh.

"It wouldn't be crazy for her to take a human captive." Pearl shrugged. Lapis felt shivers go up her spine but ignored it, choosing to comfort her friend once more.

She leaned down to his height, grasping a hand. "Well I'm alright Steven. Don't worry about me, okay? You know I call you whenever I need you." She ruffled his hair for good measure, which made him laugh.

Lapis smiled lightly at him, this time meaning it. 

She hated hurting her friends feelings. She remembered how all those years ago he would always give her this look of utter disappointment. His brown orbs would get wide, sometimes glossy. His eyebrows would raise, or furrow depending on the situation. And he'd always grasp her palm with his own, squeezing gently.

"Lapis..."

His tone would always make her feel ashamed. Like she committed something worse than murder. She knew he meant well but it would always hurt regardless. It would make her want to get better so she'd never have to hear that tone again.

She was snapped out of it by Steven squeezing her hand back. 

He ran into another tight hug, holding her close. "I'm glad you're okay Lapis.." She smiled into his shoulder.

"I'm glad too." And she meant it.

One glance up at the gems showed that Amethyst and Pearl were immensely uncomfortable. 

Garnet was a whole different story. She was instead holding a small smile that barely tipped upwards. She held her thumb up, a gesture Lapis has grown comfortable with.

Garnet was literally made of love, something that Lapis had trouble grasping at first. 

Stevens explanations weren't any better, so Garnet sat her down to talk to her about it.

She remembered how uncomfortable she felt, squirming on Stevens couch alone with Garnet.

Lapis also recalled how Garnet let out a low chuckle, something she never heard from her before. It shocked her into staying still. 

Garnet put a hand on her shoulder gently, which regardless made her jump. 

At the time Lapis was almost seventeen. "Lapis. I know how curious you are on who I am, what I am. Its understandable, but I think you can't comprehend me because you yourself are not made of love."

Garnet turned Lapis' wrist to face upward, her thumb tugging her sleeves down a little. The little bit of tan skin revealed was enough to see a few thin red lines. 

"The human life is so fragile. Don't waste your short existence on others that don't love you. Focus on loving yourself." Lapis remembered snatching her sore wrist away, stuttering out an excuse on why she needed to leave so soon. 

She didn't bother hiding her built up tears, instead using her energy to run out the door and not look back.

The advice did stick though and Lapis used to think back to it when she hit rough patches. 

Now she and Garnet were alright.

"I'm sorry about your phone." Steven said once he backed out of the hug, holding out the broken heap of parts.

Lapis smiled sadly at him. "Its okay. I can always buy another one." She stood up, grabbing the broken device from his hands. 

She went inside to put it down on the counter, ready to head back out and use an excuse to get them to go away. 

Luck of course, wasn't on her side. "I always forget how nice your house is Lappy." Amethyst commented, holding her arms behind her head. She strolled past, plopping herself on the couch.

"Thanks. Don't you guys think you should go home now? Rest maybe?" Pearl and Garnet stood around Amethyst while Steven insisted on being next to Lapis.

"We should try finishing cleaning up that rubble." Pearl mumbled, her slim fingers resting on her chin.

Amethyst sighed dramatically, leaning back on the couch. "Boringggg.."

"Come on." Garnet leaned down, picking up Amethyst who just groaned. 

"You guys go ahead, I want to hang out with Lapis for a while." Steven, waved them goodbye with the promise of being home before 3. 

Lapis cringed internally as she glanced at the hallway, the storage door in sight.

"So how have you been? Have the nightmares come back?" Steven asked, taking a seat on the couch.

Lapis frowned, sitting next to him. "Lets not talk about me right now. You had to fight off an alien invasion right? What happened?"

Steven frowned, looking down. "We..don't really know. One minute we're flying to Homeworld, the next we're crash landing here. The gems are really worried though about Peridot and Jasper." 

Lapis scrunched her face at the name. "Jasper? Who's Jasper?"

All this time the fuss has solely been about Peridot, she hadn't considered another gem was involved. 

"She was on the ship with Peridot. After we crashed we couldn't find her. She just..disappeared." 

Lapis was still unsure of gem stuff. That's why she usually stayed out of it, opting to just be in the background. 

After all this time though she knew she couldn't let Steven down. Hes helped her for years and she owed it to him to give that same support back.

"Hey, everything's going to be okay. Things will work out, they always do. Right now though, I think you deserve a break. Want to play some video games?"

His eyes sparkled as he nodded quickly. Lapis laughed, going to set up the console. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone got confused, the beginning part is a flashback. I'm still a newbie on this site, so I have yet to figured out how to work italics lmao


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lapis and Peridot get less hostile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I deleted the ending to the previous chapter. I felt it was way too soon for her to get discovered. Hope y'all understand

A few days had passed since Peridot 'moved' into Lapis' house. She expected the alien to keep to herself as suggested by her initial behavior. 

How wrong Lapis was. 

Peridot asked questions about almost everything Lapis did throughout the day. It was exhausting in a way she didn't know possible. 

Lapis was pretty antisocial to begin with, having really only Steven and Amethyst as friends. After most of the events that occured in her life she was emotionally and socially drained. That's why when she was finally old enough to live on her own she moved out the second she got the chance. 

Independence was her coping mechanism for being controlled most of her life. 

She was the author of her own story. Having Peridot in her space put a halt on things. 

She never stopped talking, even when Lapis was somewhere else in the house. She also got easily excited by almost everything in her house which led to more questions. 

She got to the point where she was considering just putting on a documentary from Animal Planet to shut her up. 

It was Friday, the one of few days she has off from work. She woke up to the sounds of Peridots ever nasally voice coming from down the hall. Lapis groaned, shoving her face into the pillow. She came to recognize her talking as recording her 'logs.' 

The blue haired girl rose, making her way to the kitchen for coffee. "Oh, greetings Lazuli! How was your 'rest'?" Peridot looked up from her spot on the couch, her fingers forming quotation marks in the air. 

Lapis acknowledged her with a small hum before putting an instant coffee packet into her cup of hot water.

She heard the loud metallic footsteps of her unlikely house mate make their way over to her. "I understand that you own an appliance capable of making 'coffee' efficiently. Yet you use the 'microwave' that's meant for heating up energy sources." The green alien observed, pointing to said appliance.

The blue haired girl groaned internally. "Doesn't mean I have to use it." She mumbled, making her way into the living room to take a seat on the couch to enjoy her drink. 

"But that's such an inefficient strategy! The appliance is to make 'coffee', so what's the purpose of owning it if you don't use it?" 

This time Lapis didn't try holding back a sigh. Although the gem had some endearing qualities, their novelties wore off fast. The more time she spent with her, the more she wanted her out of her house and finding a new spot to hide out. 

Maybe if she left Peridot on Sour Creams doorstep they'd bond over being techno nerds. The thought made Lapis chuckle briefly, catching the other residents attention.

"Whats so funny Lazuli?" The alien asked, tapping her loud foot quickly.

Lapis regained her composure. "Nothing... I'm just surprised you haven't ran out of questions yet to ask me.. I wasn't expecting you to be so talkative if your first night here said anything." Peridot stumbled at this, a green blush covering her face.

Lapis' words were a true statement.   
A first impression would prove that Peridot was stone cold and rude. Now though, she was more fun and talkative. 

"I can't help you humans have such fascinating ways of life. Gems don't require resting, eating, or excreting." Peridot said this in an awkward tone, making Lapis hum thoughtfully. 

"Can't you just look it up on your hand thingy?" Lapis asked, taking a sip out of her mug. 

The gem crossed her arms, sitting up straight. "Well, yes. It just makes more sense to use a primary source rather than something a gem might've written." 

"You mean like.. meep morp?" Lapis asked, a grin making its way onto her face.

Peridot blushed a deep green. "IT WAS THAT STUPID AQUAMARINES FAULT OKAY?!" She said in an embarrassed frenzy. Lapis only snickered in response.

"Well. This has been fun but I think I'm going to watch TV now." Lapis made her back face the gem as she kept her eyes forward on the TV as she turned it on. 

She quickly flipped the channel to her pre-recorded episodes of Camp Pining Hearts, a classic in her opinion.

"What is this?" Lapis heard the gem ask. "Its a television show. Just be quiet Peridot." She knew it sounded rude, but Lapis couldn't care at the moment. The gem didn't seem offended by it since she stayed quiet and seated.

 

 

A few episodes later and Peridot was pacing in front of the TV ranting about Percy and Paulette. In any other situation she would've been annoyed, but since it regarded her favorite show she let it slide. 

"How could Percy like Paulette? She only ever holds him down. Pierre though, would make a way more efficient teammate than that clod could ever be!" Lapis chuckled at the gems behavior. The blue haired girl was about to interject when she heard a scene come on that she actively avoided. 

"I just feel trapped." Percy said on the TV. Lapis felt her stomach drop. 

Season 3, episode 10. 

Percy wanted to join the blue team to be with Paulette, but his parents disapprove of his betrayal. 

Percy in the scene was talking about how he felt controlled by his parents and pressured to be apart of a team he didn't want. 

The first time Lapis saw this scene she had an instant panic attack, being brought back to her own teenage years when she was in a similar boat as Percy. 

Now she usually skipped the scene whenever it was about to come up, but due to Peridots distractive ranting she didn't see it coming.

Lapis' breath grew heavy and her hands began to tremble. 

Her heart started beating heavy in her chest like a drum and she feared for a moment it might pop out of her chest. 

She was loosing control and she couldn't do nothing about it.

"..Lapis?" She heard Peridot say, but it sounded distant. Suddenly all she could see was green, green. 

"Hey! Whats happening to your form? Why are you shaking?" Metal dug into her arms making Lapis' tears run freely. "P-panic attack." She said quickly before she continued to hyperventilate.

It got quiet for a moment and all Lapis could hear was her heart pounding in her head. 

"You're okay Lapis. I am here with you in your human dwelling. No one can hurt you. You're safe." Peridots words were soothing and slowly brought Lapis back to the present. 

When she was able to calm down some, she noticed Peridot was in front of her, reading something off her hand while the other held her shoulder firmly. She had enough energy to jump a bit forward and wrap her arms around the alien.

She felt her stiffen in her arms before relaxing slightly. "Whats t-this?"

"A hug." 

Her metal arms came around and hugged her back, encapsulating Lapis in warmth and comfort. "Thank you." 

When Lapis pulled away minutes later she was completely at peace. 

She noticed Peridots face was slightly flushed and she tried to focus on her hand instead. 

"I have written notes on this 'panic attack.' Do humans face this often?" Peridot asked.

Lapis sighed. Not from annoyance this time but from being content. It was nice for once to have someone to help her through a panic attack, although Peridot wasn't helpful at first. 

She was able to calm her down better than most people in her life, including Steven. 

He was too worrisome and caused more harm than good with his never ending questions although they came from a place of caring.

Peridots calm and collected voice though, helped make her feel at ease for whatever reason. 

Lapis knew though she'd be leaving to go home whenever possible. She tried not to be disappointed at that notion.

"So, when are you heading home?" 

The gems eyes widened, shifting in her seat. "I haven't really thought of that to be honest.." Although the gem had brought harm upon the Earth, even if minuscule, Lapis felt sympathy for her. She knew what it was like to loose a place you once called a safe haven. "Can you even get back?" 

"I'm not sure.. I don't know what kind of punishment they'd give me for crashing my ship and loosing my escort.." She cringed at this which made Lapis feel a twinge of guilt.

"How can I help?" Lapis surprised herself and Peridot when she asked. 

Normally, the blue haired girl could care less about others unless it was Steven. She didn't know why she'd want to help out this gem based on sole empathy. 

All Lapis' life shes been a prisoner in her own home, a place she once cared for and wanted. 

For years she yearned for a place that no longer existed. Seeing Peridot just like how she looked, confused and lost, made her want- no need to act. 

She owed her for helping through her panic attack anyways. Not to mention she'd get the gem out of her hair and her life would return to sole independence. 

"A-are you sure?" 

Lapis was surprised at the gems meek tone but quickly recovered with a nod and a puff of her cheeks. 

The green gem genuinely smiled, making Lapis blush. 

It was rare to see such a content grin on the others face. Lapis thought it was cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back  
> back again

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh I hope that was okay! My writing isn't the best but I loved this idea so much that I had to write it. I don't know how often updates will be but I'll try to keep this story going^


End file.
